Dragon*Con, part 4, Saturday continued.

So after the parade... after the parade... ummmmm...

I know I must have gone and changed! I think I had jeans and a black top with my gorgeous, Tristan built, Kaylee jacket! I put my rather flat hair up in little knots, but they looked more like "Pucca ears" (as Lauren calls them) than Kaylee hair! I spent some time with Engie and Clara becuase we wanted to attend the 'Spike and Drusila' Panel which also had Elizabeth Rhom (from Angel) and was really fun and insightful! James Masters is a wonderful person who really keeps the audience entertained and there were some lovely moments with him and Juliet Landau! I think one of the lovliest things that was revealed was when one of the audience members there aske them "What was your favourite scene as your respective characters?" To my delight Juliet Landau referred to the very moment that I had been discussing outside with Lissa, ManwithPez and others from the FFF.net boards while waiting in the queue... the moment where they touch foreheads and then turn towards the 'chosen one' in the earliest episode they appeared in. Juliet told the story of how they were playing with their lines at the audition and that moment just occoured and how Joss loved it so much he kept it in the episode - the quintessential Drew and Spike moment! The other response from James was just as delightful! He said that any scene with Juliet was the real Spike for him - all the rest of the time he was just "trying to be Spike, because without Drusila, Spike was not himself!"

It was also the day of the BBQ which Jimi had organised with Zeph's help, so we duly arrived at the appointed place and time to find some rediculous drama had gone on! It seems that some Nazi security personell, perhaps feeling out of sorts due to the overwhelming numbers of people in the hotel, or perhaps just pissed off that everyone was having fun and not them, decided to lay a huge penalty on 3 of the lovliest and most unthreatening people in our group for ... get this... dropping 4 half sized business cards from the 10th floor balcony! Given that we'd seen a lot more things thrown from the balcony, and given that there were actual 'parachute races' involving plastic bags at a later stage from the 40th floor of the same hotel (which not only did not have any repercussions, but I have heard on the boards that there are plans for a bigger and better unofficial parachute race next year!) this was rediculous to say the least! Enter Lila and Canter!! Lila (my precious li'l sis, also known to FFF.net and the 76th as MsG) and canter took it in turns to tag team the security manager and call in the event organiser and got them to let it all go instead of cancelling their membership and banning then from staying next year! (as if they'd want to) So it all blew over, but it was a blot on an otherwise wonderful day! Stupid Nazi-esque security folk!

The food was amazing and there was so much of it left over!!! We met more friends and shared more stories! I can't keep up with all the people I am meeting!! The afternoon was spent in good company with wonderful friends! There was a raffle which was to raise some additional money to offset some of the command costs for the parade and the shindig to follow Dragon*Con! I am just so happy to be meeting up with these wonderful people who have been a huge part of my life for so long, albeit online! Following the BBQ Rosie, Lila, Cindy and I headed over to the Haytt to get changed for the official SEBC (South Eastern Brown Coats) Shindig which was taking place that night! Rosie had brought along several wonderful silk sari's and I decided that it was a good opportunity to wear my hairpiece, so I went and put that one, wore a black singlet top over a black bra and simple black pants and we added the stunning hot pink sari, bindi and make up in Laz, Erica, Rosie and Canter's room! Rosie even loaned me a silk fan which I delighted in using as a prop! I decided to go barefoot, and we headed to the ballroom in the basement of the Hyatt where the shindig was being held! There was a huge queue and there was some concern that we wouldn't get to go in, but when it came to the crunch we were among the last let through the doors... The music was wonderful - although it was really too loud! I am not a fuddy duddy... seriously!! But I was starting to get a headache purely from the sound levels and I had to leave before Ron Khulman was finished!! I discovered several days after D*C that he had invited me to a BBQ at his place on the night before it all started!! What a lovely guy he is to do that!! I hadn't checked my MySpace for several days (staying with other people means limiting yourself online) so I wasn't aware until post-D*C! Never mind - there's always next year!!

One of the things I most enjoyed about the Shindig was that here were people I had never even heard of who loved the same fandom that I love. The very same passion for a show (that should never have been cancelled) which had brought me to the USA in the first place had brought these people together too! There were Kaylee's in pink layer hoop dresses, Kaylee's in overalls, Mal's in coats and Mal's in shirts and braces, Jaynes in hats and Zoe's in vests, Wash's, Simon's, River's, I am certain that I even saw a Sheppard Book! I loved the couple who were dressed as Mal and Safron, complete with floral wreaths in their hair, who tok the centre of the dance floor for Saffron's wedding dance when the Bedlam Bards were on! I also loved that when Rosie, Canter and I started dancing together in a small circle that people kept joining us, it grew and grew until there were over 30 of us and I had this amazing tingling feeling that this was exactly like the whole fandom - a few come together and more and more people are drawn to the warmth and connection that exists. Before long it's impossible not to notice a group so large that it dominates the dance floor, or perhaps the whole internet fandom or perhaps Dragon*Con or perhaps the whole film industry!!! Who knows where this wonderful warm fandom can go - I just know it's a great feeling being a part of it all!

Given the noise factor and the fact that others were unable to gain entry and were congregating back at the Marriott, Cindy, Canter, Rosie and I headed over there to join them! Rose and the Michaels were there already as was Jimi! So we enjoyed another wonderful night of sitting, talking, drinking (rum this time - really nice, spiced rum) and meeting more new friends!! I think it was around 3am that Canter and I started to work our way 'home' and we were met by some rather drunk folk who really wanted to get into our pants but who walked with us from the guys dressed up as Devo whom they were hanging out with, via the Drum Circle...( interesting place and I am glad I popped in for 5 minutes just to say I'd been!), and we eventually 'lost them' at the lifts for our rooms! It was at least 4am when I went to bed - I have no idea how much or how little sleep I got during the whole of D*C, but I suspect the whole convention I went on as much sleep as I would normally love to get in one night!